Last year, I took two Buffett stocks and put them head to head: Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) and Domino’s Pizza (NASDAQ: DPZ). Coca-Cola is Buffett’s longest-held stock, and Domino’s is a fairly new addition. And while their business models are different and they operate in different industries, they’re both leading consumer goods stocks that offer value to investors.
I suggested that Coca-Cola was likely to be the winning stock in 2025, and I was right. Can it continue? Let’s revisit the debate and see who might win in 2026.
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Neither Coca-Cola nor Domino’s beat the market last year, but Coke stock came pretty close, while Domino’s remained nearly flat.
When I chose it last year, I noted the company’s longer track record of reliability and its higher dividend yield. I felt at the time that those features would be important to the market in 2025, as it was entering a new year after two years of double-digit gains.
In the end, growth won out, and the market delivered a third consecutive year of double-digit gains, but Coca-Cola got high marks anyway for its stability and local production in the face of rising tariffs.
Now that the market is entering a new year after three years of double-digit gains, does this thesis still hold true?
Coca-Cola has been performing well over the past year, and its localized production is earning it a thumbs-up from the market.
In the most recent quarter, which was the 2025 third quarter (fourth-quarter earnings will be released on Feb. 10), sales increased 5% year over year, and comparable operating margin rose from 30.7% to 31.9% year over year. The company has pricing power, and it has been able to keep up with higher costs by raising prices as well as changing packaging and size. It continues to see ways to become more efficient and launch new products, and its model of acquiring global brands adds new revenue sources.
It also stands out for its dividend. Coca-Cola is a Dividend King, and it has raised its dividend for the past 63 years straight, rain or shine. The dividend typically yields around 3%, but today it’s 2.9% because the stock has performed so well.
Domino’s has been reporting similar mid-single-digit sales growth recently, but the market hasn’t rewarded it. Global retail sales increased 6.3% year over year in the 2025 fiscal third quarter (ended Sept. 7), with comparable sales up 5.2%. Restaurants in general have been under pressure in the high-inflation environment, even though pizza is a food that’s cheap and resilient. The market may be seeing more limited upside for Domino’s right now given continued pressure.
